About

$5,480

pledged of $4,000 goal

131

backers

The birthplace and hometown of Lovecraft - Providence, Rhode Island

SUCCESS!!!Thank you all so much for being a part of this!We do not plan to add any stretch goals, as we don't want to be greedy push our luck, and would rather focus on future projects. We'd be very grateful for any additional support with project, but all funds raised beyond goal will be put toward the next few projects we've got plannned - including PHASE THREE described below. Stay tuned over the coming year for more news on that and other projects bringing the Global Weird Renaissance to Providence.

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Over 125 years after the birth of famed author H.P. Lovecraft, there remains no permanent marker to note where he was born in Providence, Rhode Island. We're here to change that - with help from YOU.

We, the Lovecraft Arts & Sciences Council (a federally recognized nonprofit educational organization) would like to place a really special marker to commemorate where it all began - literally, where the literary creator of Cthulhu, the Necronomicon, Nyarlathotep, and myriad other creatures of cosmic imagination, himself came into being.

H.P. Lovecraft, the "father of weird fiction" (a unique blend of horror, science fiction, and fantasy), is revered around the world as one of the 20th Century's greatest writers of such imaginative fiction - and yet, in his own home town, there are few things to indicate he ever existed here.

That's all starting to change, though. Two years ago, we got the city to name a special corner of Lovecraft's Providence as a Memorial Square in honor of his literary legacy. Soon after, we helped bring about the Lovecraft Bronze Bust Project, which placed a magnificent bust of HPL, designed and created by Bryan Moore, into the Providence Athenaeum library. Concurrently, we hosted the world's largest gathering of Lovecraftian devotees and fans of global weird, at NecronomiCon Providence, in August 2013 and again in August 2015.

Last year, we began a new series of public art projects as part of our goal of making recognition of Lovecraft's contribution to the literary arts a part of Providence's vibrant and historic urban landscape. In May, the H.P. Lovecraft Memorial Square plaque, designed by our good friend and local artist, Gage Prentiss, replaced the original one from 2013. This piece has been a huge hit since its recent installation in the heart of Lovecraft's College Hill neighborhood of Providence.

The H.P. Lovecraft Memorial Square plaque, designed by Gage Prentiss

This piece changed the memorial square sign from this...

The original sign, placed by the city.

To this...

The new plaque, designed by Gage Prentiss

Now, we're on to Phase Two, the placement of a fitting marker stone at Lovecraft's birthplace, 454 Angell Street. Currently, there is no hint of Lovecraft there, apart from a coffee shop nearby and a couple very-well-appointed bookstores in the neighborhood.

Sadly, the house where he was born and spent the first few years of his peculiar life is long gone - replaced by a plain brick apartment building.

Lovecraft's first house - 454 Angell Street

Nothing remains to remind us, or to signal to the many visitors to Providence looking for signs of Lovecraft, except for a temporary marker we placed in time for his 125th birthday this past August.

The temporary marker, placed August 2015

Here's what we have in mind to make it permanent:

The HPL Birthplace Plaque

A mock-up of the proposed placement of the stone marker

With the completion of successful funding, we hope to have this fine black granite and steel marker placed on March 15, 2016, the anniversary of Lovecraft's death.

Lovecraft was a notoriously complex man, with enough silly quirks and onerous flaws for ten people (more on this below**), but his remarkable imaginative tales have also served as a source of spine-tingling entertainment, in dozens of languages, for millions of readers around the world - and his fame only continues to grow. In order to honor the global literary impact his tales of cosmic horror have had, it is time his roots were more firmly established in the physical and cultural terra firma of historic Providence.

As soon as we accomplish this successfully, we'll move on to the next step...Phase Three, our most ambitious project yet, involves THIS:

A full-sized statue of Lovecraft, placed in the very heart of Providence

Stay tuned - if all goes well with the current project, we plan to launch full-scale funding for the statue in the spring of 2016.

**We would like to make abundantly clear, though - while we laud the imaginative fiction of Lovecraft, we also completely recognize that one aspect of this complex man is quite reprehensible: his biting disdain for much of humanity, especially of other races - sentiments which are as repellent now as they were too commonplace when he lived. This aspect of him is NOT worthy of anything but scorn and rejection - BUT, it is not this that we wish to memorialize.

With this birthplace memorial marker, we mean to pay homage to the otherworldly imagination and bizarre wonderment that his stories are infused with, and to give Lovecraft some overdue local acknowledgment of his lasting literary legacy.

If you agree with us, if you've enjoyed the chills created by a good creepy Lovecraft tale, and if you presently enjoy the ongoing, thriving, and increasingly diverse genre of Weird fiction and art, please be a part of our efforts. Your support is crucial!

Please note that we are a small nonprofit (501.c.3, if you'd be interested in simply making a tax-deductible donation directly), and we are purposefully keeping our backer levels fairly simple, and the rewards offered somewhat modest. Our primary goal is to get this marker in place, without getting bogged down in a full-time job tending to this fundraising campaign. And as we consider the even bigger campaign to come, we would like it made clear that - despite the lack of a million rewards and stretch goals - we welcome you - and still very much value your participation in making this a community effort.

We strongly hope the simple satisfaction of helping us achieve these monumental (pun!) works will serve as something of a reward unto itself.

Thank you!

Risks and challenges

No Kickstarter is ever guaranteed -- but, being veterans of a highly successful campaign for our 2013 convention - a campaign that came with its own share of sobering doses of kickstarter reality - we're really confident that we can pull off this modest campaign to everyone's satisfaction.

We know the risks associated, and have done our very best to overcome them before we even launched this kickstarter.
We have received permission from the city, arranged for all the necessary paperwork, and in conjunction with the artist, have planned all the creation and installation details and have lined up a great laser-etching company to do the plaque. Additionally, we have a couple really good local printers we like to use for our print work - all ready to make high-quality art prints of our posters, etc.
We've even had a "temporary" marker in place since mid-August, to test the waters - and, it's been a big hit. So, with your help, we anticipate relatively easy success on this project.

Your support is crucial! Please note that we are purposefully keeping our backer levels fairly simple, and the rewards offered somewhat modest. Our primary mission is to get this marker in place, without getting bogged down in a full-time job tending to this fundraising campaign. And as we consider the even bigger campaign to come, we would like it made clear that - despite the lack of a million rewards and stretch goals, we still very much value your participation. Your support is crucial! Please note that we are purposefully keeping our backer levels fairly simple, and the rewards offered somewhat modest. Our primary mission is to get this marker in place, without getting bogged down in a full-time job tending to this fundraising campaign. And as we consider the even bigger campaign to come, we would like it made clear that - despite the lack of a million rewards and stretch goals, we still very much value your participation.
We strongly hope the simple satisfaction of helping us achieve these goals will serve as something of a reward unto itself.
Cheers!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $25 or more
About $25

The big can of baked beans.

We will send a digital version of the plaque and memorial square marker for you to enjoy, as sincere thanks for your kind support of our goal of properly commemorating the birthplace of Lovecraft. Additionally, we'll send you stickers and a bookmark version of the birthplace marker!

These can be picked up at our store in Downtown Providence, or we will mail these to you, anywhere in the world, for $6 US / $16 international.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $140 or more
About $140

Coffee Ice Cream and Apple Pie!

For this hugely generous donation, we will give you a small casting of the memorial square plaque, as well as all the previous rewards - with all included print artwork signed by the artist, Gage Prentiss.

These can be picked up at our store in Providence, or we will mail these to you, anywhere in the world, for $10 US / $25 international.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $250 or more
About $250

Surf and Turf at the Turk's Head Club!

This level includes all the above coolness, and a perfect facsimile of the marker, at half-scale, printed onto a thin sheet of metal.
Additionally, we'd love to take you on a stroll of Lovecraft's old neighborhood, should you find yourself in the area - coffee's on us!
Join the organizers, and the artist, for a personal tour of both the marker site and H.P. Lovecraft Memorial Square - and farther-flung sites.
Also, join us as a special guest for the special "unveiling" party tentatively planned for March 15, if you can! (transportation to and from Providence not included, but we will help you plan..)

Material items can be picked up at our store in downtown Providence, or we will mail these to you, anywhere in the world, for $10 US / $25 international.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $3,000 or more
About $3,000

Howie, Clark, Robert, Harry, Frank, and August paint the town red!

INCREDIBLE! How could we ever thank you properly... well... we probably couldn't -- BUT we'll try. In addition to all previous rewards, we'd like to give you a one-off version of the H.P. Lovecraft Memorial Square plaque, made by the artist directly from the original mold, featuring the same details (inset stars representing the night's sky above Rlyeh on August 20, 1890, the words highlighted with industrial glow-in-the-dark paint, brass finish, etc), and a perfect copy of the metal birthplace plaque itself. Additionally, we'd like to invite you to come and spend a couple days with us in Providence, for the "unveiling" of the new sign - tentatively planned for March 15, 2016!
You'll have to transport yourself here, but we'll gladly put you up at the historic Biltmore Hotel Room at the Biltmore for two nights, and make you Guest of honor at a small party for the ground breaking, etc. We'll also give you a deluxe tour of Lovecraft's Providence, and surrounding sites off the ancient track! (transportation to and from Providence not included, but we will help you plan...)